Kiwi Raises $12 Million for Mobile Games With ‘Wow’ Factor

Kiwi CEO Omar Siddiqui wants to focus on quality, not quantity of free to play mobile games.

Kiwi

Betting quality will trump quantity in the free-to-play mobile gaming market, investors have put $12 million into Kiwi Inc.

The infusion pushes total funding for the three-year-old startup to $21 million and marks the latest example of venture investors backing long-term, big-budget games instead of the rudimentary graphics and low-cost releases that now characterize the bulk of the market.

Like SuperEvil Megacorp, TapZen and other mobile gaming startups that have captured venture cash in recent months, Kiwi was founded by industry veterans to build highly polished, immersive “AAA” quality games.

The idea, according to founders at all three startups, is to build free-to-play games that will attract players for thousands of hours instead of just a few spare moments while waiting for the elevator.

“When you try and do this with console games it’s 200 people for three years to produce a game. With mobile it’s a quick process and out the door,” Kiwi Chief Executive Omar Siddiqui said. “We think it’s an emergent sector.”

Siddiqui said he expects Kiwi to produce about two to three games a year, releasing them only when they are high quality.

“The games will have to include polish, creative excellence and that ‘wow’ factor when someone opens a game for the first time. We’ll also use things like analytics and iterating as we get market feedback. It will be the whole package,” Siddiqui said. “What this round allows us to do is really focus.”

Founded in 2011, Kiwi has had five of its games featured in Google Play’s Top Grossing 25, including “Shipwrecked: Lost Island” and “Enemy Lines.”

Northgate Capital led the Series B round with participation from new investor Draper Fisher Jurvetson and existing investor Sequoia Capital.

The venture round will also be used to expand development to iOS and bring tools it offers to independent developers to market. Kiwi previously only developed for Android.

Siddiqui declined to discuss company revenue or the significance the tools product could have on Kiwi’s bottom line. He also declined to discuss revenue or valuation.

The core of Kiwi’s executive team previously worked at Trippert Labs, which was acquired by Playdom and later by Walt Disney.